On Tuesday night Mr. Crawford, M.P. for the City, tried
to use the great influence of the Corporation of London to defeat the scheme for the reform of Emanuel Hospital. He had secured Mr. Beresford Hope to second him by a general attack on the Endowed Schools' Commission ; but both of them made very lame speeches, and Mr. Gladstone, who put his shoulder to the wheel in his old fashion, made their case appear really contemptible, as we have shown in another column. Nevertheless, the City phalanx would not give it up. Sir James Lawrence maintained that " the whole Christian sentiment of the country had con- demned the action of the Commissioners," which he described as a confiscation by the rich of the property of the poor. That was good strong language, but then the facts to sustain it were not forthcoming, and that was a little defect in the argument. Mr. Walpole was very amusing. He made a really fine and candid speech for the Government, but declared that he must vote against them because the Endowed Schools' Commission was hung up for the time, and therefore it was not right to give effect to a good scheme which had been made before their constitution was sub- mitted to a Committee,—which was like saying that a posthu- mous work, however good, should never be published. The Government beat their opponents by a majority of 48 (286 to 238), the metropolitan members being the chief deserters.
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